According to the Federal Office for Cybersecurity (OFCS), there has been a steep escalation in fraud using AI, with an especially notable increase in cases of ‘sextortion’ and voice imitations.
The OFCS, which is the successor to the NSCS, published the findings in its biannual report.
It said Switzerland doubled reports of online fraud in the second half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, with more than 30,000 cases reported. It added that the use of AI for malicious purposes has gained momentum, but did concede that it is not yet systematically used by cybercriminals.
It noted that cases of sextortion using AI-generated images are on the rise. Sextortion is where fraudsters use modified images and/or videos (i.e. so-called ‘deep-fakes’) to blackmail their victims by threatening to post compromising documents on public platforms.
In addition to sextortion, sophisticated techniques involving voice imitations have also been reported. These are said to be so convincing that they can make people believe they are talking to relatives or work colleagues. AI is also used to create emails that imitate the linguistic and visual style of legitimate entities with great precision, making it difficult to detect the fraud.
In addition, a new diversity of approaches has been observed in online investment fraud, such as using deepfakes of celebrities.
The OFCS said: "Scammers are always very creative, coming up with new scenarios to encourage victims to react without taking the time to think. AI-generated content accentuates this trend. So don't let yourself get overwhelmed and overwhelmed, but take the time to think and, if in doubt, contact other people or the OFCS to get their opinion on the matter.”